When the Time Comes
by Galaxii
Summary: Harry's sixth year...with adventures, emotions, and surprises... Kind of stupid to post this fic, since HBP is out THIS month Yay! So consider this, well, personal entertainment.
1. Without A Backward Glance

Chapter 1 - Without A Backward Glance

Harry Potter stared blankly at the ceiling. He was in his room at Number 4, Privet Drive, feeling extremely bored. There was no pattern on the ceiling. How dull. Even the air felt sleepy. But how could Harry sleep when he'd just woke up from a long siesta? And Hedwig was nowhere to be found. Damn it, she was the only living thing in the house he liked.

The other three living things, you know who they are, _absolutely_ deserved to be crowned the three biggest gits in Muggle world.

All in all, it was hard for Harry to tolerate the dullness of his life at the Dursley's. Not just dullness, but also that kind of mingled dislike, vigilance, and annoyance he constantly received from Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley. They still hadn't forgot Harry's "weird folks" (particularly Mad-Eye Moody) and their promise to visit if anything went wrong. They were ignoring, or rather, avoiding Harry all the time. Sometimes Harry even felt like he was standing in front of them wearing an invisibility cloak.

Not that he cared, though. Harry secretly enjoyed being alone. Only at this time he didn't need to wear a mask to shield his fragile emotions. He would lie on his bed and let his tears flow freely down his cheeks, until it finally dried up. Then he would wash his face and pretended nothing happening.

Things went on like this for more than two weeks.

Harry tried to go through his tied-up emotions, but all these would bring him to the thoughts of… Sirius, over and over again, and it made his eyes blur and his throat tighten. Never will he see his godfather again. He missed Sirius so much, and tear wasn't enough to wash away the woes. Every time an owl mail arrived, he remembered how he'd waited for Sirius's mails before. Every time he saw a shaggy black dog on the street, he was painfully reminded of Sirius. If only it could turn into him…

Thinking of the loss of Sirius was unbearable, but Harry could do nothing to erase the haunting image of Sirius falling into the veil, ever so sad and chilling. He would never forget that horrible night at the Department of Mysteries. Day and night, pieces of it emerged frequently in his mind, as if someone was playing the same horror movie again and again. Apart from that, Harry remembered Sirius's lonesome life at Grimmauld Place. His last days were not pleasant at all.

Thinking of all these was quite enough to make Harry completely lose his mind. Seriously.

Oh no, I shouldn't have mentioned the word serious, 'cause it sounds so much like Sirius. Now that's a nice baloney.

_Think of something to do, I've had too much thinking and now my thoughts start to get weird,_ Harry repeated to himself for what had to be the fifteenth time today. Sadly, his only options of something else to do were doing homework (boring) and reading his mails (for the hundredth time).

Harry sighed deeply and picked up a letter nearest to him. It was a letter from Ron arrived yesterday. His familiar handwriting jumped into Harry's eyes.

_Dear Harry,_

_How are you? I hope you're doing fine. I guess your folks aren't bothering you very much. I hope so. Anyway, you won't stay there for long. Mum's already planning to get you and Hermione to Grimmauld Place, as soon as possible. Then we'll all be together._

_Ginny and I are already living at Grimmauld Place – it's a bit boring, but the absence of Kreacher was a huge progress. (Harry's lips twitched – he loathed Kreacher for what he'd done to Sirius) Fred and George are working on their joke shop, which is going great. They are really rich now! Charlie doesn't have time for the Order so he's now in Romania. And Bill, well, you won't believe it, but he's actually dating Fleur Delacour now! And don't ask me about Percy. Mum said he'd return to our family anytime now, and alas, how I dread that._

_Oh, I almost forgot – have you received your O.W.L. result yet? I haven't got mine and Hermione told me she might just die of anxiety. She must've told you that too. That's not very pleasant of her, is it?_

_Anyway, I'm sure that we're going to see each other pretty soon,_

_Ron_

_P.S. Write back using Pig, he needs some extra exercise._

Reading Ron's letter made Harry felt only slightly better. He wasn't sure if Number 12, Grimmauld Place would be any better than here at Privet Drive. To him, it just seemed that everyone and everything was so, so far away. Right now the Leaky Cauldron, where he could live alone, sounded much more appealing to him.

Whatever.

………………………………………

Three days passed by and no one came to escort Harry away. No surprise visit. No "Hey Harry, we're here to bring you out of this stupid place". No nothing.

Feeling a little thirsty, Harry got up from his chair and walked downstairs. Not surprisingly, he got face to face with Dudley in the kitchen, who was nicking some cakes from the fridge. He smirked at the sight of Harry.

"You're not supposed to eat any snack," scoffed Dudley.

"Can I drink water, then? Will that kill you, Duddykins?" Harry snapped impatiently. "And do I need to remind you – for the millionth time – that _you_ are not supposed to have anything out of the fridge?"

Dudley blushed and Harry ignored it. He poured himself a glass of water and headed straight back to his room. Dudley hissed after him, trying and failing to sound threatening, "Don't you dare telling mom,_ don't you dare…_" He chanted the phrase annoyingly as Harry climbed the stairs, until Harry turned back abruptly and hissed back, "I won't tell Aunt Petunia if you'll shut up _now_! Stop annoying me or else I will tell _my folks._"

He turned and stomped back into his room. He wasn't in the mood of any further conversation with Dudley Dursley, thank you very much.

The moment he opened the door, Harry saw an owl knocking on the windowpane of his room. His irritation forgotten, he set down the glass of water and ran over to let it in.

The owl was delivering for Hogwarts. Harry untied an official-looking envelope from the owl's outstretched leg, then closed the window after the owl flew away.

Harry sank into his bed and started opening the letters, knowing perfectly well of what was coming. Sure enough, one of the three parchments was the usual reminder of term starting on the first of September, the other listing the books he would need for the upcoming school year, and the last was his O.W.L. results. Abandoning the first two letters, Harry unfolded the last piece of parchment with slightly shaky fingers.

Ordinary Wizarding Level

Examination Results of Harry James Potter, Gryffindor, Fifth Year

Astronomy: _Acceptable_

Care of Magical Creatures: _Exceeds Expectations_

Charms: _Exceeds Expectations_

Defense Against the Dark Arts: _Outstanding_

Divination: _Dreadful_

Herbology: _Acceptable_

History of Magic: _Poor_

Potions: _Outstanding_

Transfiguration: _Exceeds Expectations_

Total O.W.L.s Accomplished: 7

Harry didn't move for one whole minute after that. He was in a daze. _Seven O.W.L.s?_ An _Outstanding_ in Potions? _Potions?_ How in the world did he do that? Feeling somewhat perplexed, he looked down again and noticed another piece of parchment attached.

Dear Mr. Potter,

Congratulations! You have achieved a total number of 7 O.W.L.s. Please be informed that during your sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, you will be studying particular N.E.W.T. courses in accordance with your career preference. In your case, your career choice seemed to be of an Auror, and we are pleased to inform you that you have successfully passed all the four subjects required for further Auror studies. Therefore, in the upcoming school year you shall join your classmates in Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, and Transfiguration classes. Also, you can take an additional subject of your own choice. Further more, you will be taking private Special Auror Training lessons each week with your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

Wish you a nice holiday,

_Griselda Marchbanks_

Head of the Wizarding Examinations Authority

A whirlpool of different emotions knocked Harry over. Surprise, delight, relief and excitement all swept over him. _I passed! And I'll be taking Auror lessons!_ thought Harry, grinning heartily – something he hadn't done for months.

Still grinning, Harry carefully put all the Hogwarts letters back into the envelope and placed it securely in his trunk. He then lied down on his bed and gazed at the ceiling, having nothing else to do (he had finished all his homework yesterday). He closed his eyes and fantasized an adult Harry as an excellent Auror. And before long, Harry dozed off.

_The veil was swinging in an innocent fashion… Voldemort was laughing into Harry's ear, with that screechy, merciless laugh… A foggy shape of Sybill Trelawney was spinning… Harry was qualified an Auror, along with Ron… _

_The sky darkened – Harry was riding a thestral to the Ministry of Magic… Sirius disappeared behind the veil… He was yelling… and waving wildly… Something was strange here… There was a faint voice Harry couldn't understand, yet he could sense it getting closer… Was it behind him? Or was it right in front of…_

"HARRY!" said a female voice loud and clear.

Harry started. He opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was, bizarrely, some spiky electric blue hair. Nymphadora Tonks was standing beside his bed. Harry gasped, "Tonks! How come you're here?"

"Well," she replied casually, "of course we've come and pick you up!"

"Oh yeah," said Harry. To his surprise, it felt remotely good to see Tonks.

Tonks helped Harry to pack the rest of his things. Harry didn't bother to clean the floor or arrange his bed, which was in disarray. "How did you get into the house? Where are the Dursleys?" he asked Tonks as she lifted his trunk with a Levitation Charm.

"Old trick, Harry," winked Tonks. "Sent another Muggle post to the Dursleys that your cousin has to join the 'Annual Teenager Boxing Tournament'! I guess they left when you were asleep."

Harry could only snicker.

They met Remus Lupin, Alastor Moody, and Kingsley Shacklebolt in the living room downstairs. Harry was relieved to see that there were only four people. He didn't feel like seeing many people now, not after Sirius… Harry forced the image out of his head.

Lupin, who looked tired but quite cheerful (was the cheerfulness pretended?), beamed and patted Harry on the shoulder. "Harry," he said. "Sorry about the delay. We were busy since last week. Anyway, let's get going."

Harry nodded happily, his upset feeling lessened a great deal. _Well, it wasn't too bad seeing them, _Harry mused and followed Lupin toward the door without a backward glance.

………………………………………………

A/N – Please, please let me know how you guys think about this chapter! I really need your opinions, especially suggestions for improvement! But I dunno if I should continue this at all, because HBP is coming out in less than one month!


	2. Startling News and Happy Birthday

Chapter 2 Startling News and Happy Birthday

After an hour, the five of them arrived at Number 12, Grimmauld Place. They had traveled here by broomstick, for according to Lupin and Moody, it was the safest way.

Harry felt a wave of pang when they finally got inside the house. _This was Sirius's house,_ he thought, tears threatening to fall again. Luckily, Mrs. Weasley saw him and ran over to give him a chest-cracking hug, followed by Ron, Ginny, and Hermione.

Ron seemed to grow taller (again!) and looked lankier than ever. Hermione didn't change a bit, while Ginny looked slightly different being a few inches taller and her auburn hair pouring down her shoulder.

"Hello Harry!" Hermione grinned. "Wotcha, mate!" Ron chuckled. Ginny simply smiled but it made Harry felt welcomed all the same.

They had lunch right after Harry's arrival, followed by a "highly confidential" Order meeting – _no underages allowed _(the four friends complained loudly, though Harry didn't fuss – he felt too drained to care much). So the four underages gathered up in Ron's room for a nice long chat.

…………………………………………

"Guys, how about a game of chess?" Ginny suggested after they chatted away for nearly an hour, running out of topic.

"Oh yes!" said Ron enthusiastically.

"Oh no," muttered Hermione. Then she rummaged her bag and took out something like a schedule. She studied it carefully with an absorbed expression, murmuring to herself.

Harry and Ron were halfway through their first game of wizard chess when Mrs. Weasley poked her head into their room, "Ron, Ginny, Hermione – please come and help me bake some cookies, dear," she called, and added quickly when she saw Harry following a disgruntled Ginny out of the door, "Oh Harry, you stay. I suppose you're tired, aren't you?"

"No, Mrs. Weasley," Harry replied quickly. "I want to come."

"If so, honey," said Mrs. Weasley lovingly as she stretched an arm across Harry's shoulder. "Come with us."

They were just finished with the cookies when the doorbell rang. Instinctively, Harry raised his not-yet-washed hands up to his ear, ready for Mrs. Black's infamous bloodcurdling shrieks. But to his surprise, there was no clamor. All he heard was quick footsteps from the door. "Oh Harry," Ginny grinned at Harry's puzzled face. "They removed that hag's portrait – it was a nasty job."

"Excellent," Harry grinned back at her. Then a thought struck him – _that Black woman's probably pleased now that Sirius is dead…_

But his doleful thoughts didn't carry him further, for the quick footsteps had stopped in front of him.

They belonged to Albus Dumbledore.

"Harry," said Dumbledore gently. He looked a bit wearier than Harry had remembered. "I'm sorry to say that the reason I came here is because of an unfortunate event. Mr. Fudge had just informed me of the disappearance of an Unspeakable from the Ministry."

Harry's eyes widened. "Do you assume this is the doing of Voldemort, sir?" he asked.

"I daresay so," was Dumbledore's reply.

"But… But why would he move so fast?" Harry wondered aloud. "I thought he'd lie low for quite a while."

"We don't know," said Dumbledore with an air of serenity. "And for this reason I've come – to discuss the issue with the Order… Ah, Remus," his crystal-clear blue eyes shifted to Harry's side.

Harry felt Lupin standing beside him. He looked almost as calm as Dumbledore, nevertheless his voice allowed some evident disquietude to slip. "Dumbledore, the members are waiting. We have to start quickly," Lupin said as he led Dumbledore swiftly out of the kitchen. Harry gazed at their retreating figures, thinking hard.

_So what's Voldemort playing now? I thought he'd be playing hide-and-seek. The git. He must've caught another Unspeakable and forced him to spill out information… to help him with another plan to kill me, whatever it may be… Well, he'll never win. The battle belongs to Dumbledore – to us._

_But do you feel like fighting? Aren't you tired? _asked another voice inside him ever so bluntly. _You're unnerved by the loss of Sirius. It occupied your life and everything. You won't stand up again and fight your destiny unless you move on. Unless you move on – unless you move on – unless you…_

The voice echoed in Harry's mind, but he shut it out. "I'm not ready," he murmured softly, his voice barely audible.

He walked out of the kitchen, unaware of a certain redheaded girl, who was standing beside the sink and watching him all the time with a sad look on her face.

…………………………………………

Two weeks had passed since Harry's arrival at Number 12, Grimmauld Place. He enjoyed living here generally, but he had never completely cheered up, mainly because of Sirius. He spent time chatting and playing with his friends, cleaning the house with Mrs. Weasley, and occasionally meeting unexpected members from the Order like Professor McGonagall, or Professor Snape, though he was better described as unwelcome.

And on this seemingly normal Wednesday, something abnormal was going on in the house.

IT WAS HARRY'S SIXTEENTH BIRTHDAY!

"Today," announced an elated Mrs. Weasley at breakfast, "is Harry's birthday!"

"Mum, we didn't forget," Ron swallowed his huge bite of bagel and protested. Hermione, who was sitting beside him, looked quite pleased that he'd finally understood some table manners.

"Okay, okay," said Mrs. Weasley, smiling profoundly. "Harry, these are the gifts you received –" she waved a hand toward an impressive pile of boxes and parcels on the floor beside the table, "—but I suggest you to open them at dinner tonight."

"Sure, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said politely. He guessed he could wait.

"Our plan for today," Mr. Weasley spoke up, folding up a copy of the _Daily Prophet_, "is to go to Diagon Alley from morning till afternoon, and have a celebration party at dinnertime."

Everyone around the table beamed and Tonks made a shrill whistle. Harry blushed profusely as he looked at the smiling faces. He didn't know that they'd make such a commotion about his birthday. But he felt delighted, of course. Today, unlike the days Harry had had lately, will be pleasant and fun all the while.

About two hours after breakfast, they headed off for Diagon Alley as promised. Harry was accompanied by Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Bill, Tonks, Lupin, and Mrs. Weasley.

As the archway opened for them to enter, Harry was once again amazed. He hadn't been here for a long time and he was ready for a nice stroll inside Quality Quidditch Supplies, and oh, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

Mrs. Weasley insisted to visit Fred and George first. And so they did. Fred and George Weasley waved at them as they walked into their joke shop. The twins looked very jubilant among the nonstop customers.

"Business is booming, business is indeed booming," said George. He was panting slightly.

"Here, have a seat – sorry, that's the only space available," said Fred.

"But we plan to expand the size of our shop," added George, "as soon as we got enough money."

Fred clapped his hands together, "That's right!"

Mrs. Weasley, Lupin, and Tonks looked impressed. And Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, even Bill, each bought some of the twins' products in special discount.

They left Fred and George's joke shop after one hour, and then sauntered among the colorful shops. At noon they reached a battered looking brick wall, and Mrs. Weasley, to Harry's surprise, tapped some of its bricks and the entrance to a small alleyway opened up for them to enter. There were numerous wizard restaurants and cafes within the alleyway. Diagon Alley, Harry decided, was much bigger than he'd known. They ate at a fabulous restaurant called Pixie's Tavern, recommended by Bill. "He often brings Fleur here for romantic dinner," Ron whispered to Harry furtively.

After an immensely satisfying meal, Lupin and Tonks had to go for an Order task. "See you later," they said, and vanished with two pops.

The rest of them spent a lazy hour in Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, chatting and savoring a variety of sundaes. So far, Harry was enjoying himself. He has definitely cheered up, having a cool sundae and basking in sunny air with Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Bill, and Mrs. Weasley. _They looked like a family._

Before finally decided to leave, they bought some school stuffs for the coming school year. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny each needed many new textbooks. Harry couldn't help but feel pesky when the manager handed him a brand new copy of _Advanced Potion Making._

…………………………………………

Dinner was scrumptious. A variety of mouth-watering dishes lined up neatly on a magically expanded table, showing of their maker's skills. Though it surely wasn't as grand as the Hogwarts feast, it was nevertheless very charming. Obviously, Mrs. Weasley had cooked the food with all her might, helped along by Ron, Hermione, and Ginny (Harry was chucked out – "Rest, dear.")

So, as a result, dinner party was an even better experience than at Diagon Alley during the day. Luminous candles lit the hall, and chatters of the people livened up the whole house. Harry got a snack box called "The Best From Honeydukes", from Ron; a book titled _Handbook for Young Auror Trainees Like You,_ from Hermione; another book titled _Everything About Beastly Dark Creatures,_ from Lupin; an exquisite quill with auto-refilling ink, from Ginny (she looked fluttered when Harry told her it's a really wonderful gift); a delicious cake from Hagrid; a peculiar-looking wizard wristwatch that is also an alarm clock and bewitched memos ('time to wash your socks, boy!'), from Tonks; a big box of homemade chocolate chip cookies, from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley; another box full of the Weasley twins' joke products, from the Weasley twins; and a delicate bejeweled casket, from Bill.

A/N – Aaahhh, I'm so tired! Think up any other gifts Harry should've received – yourself! I'll just stop here. : )

Harry was happy – very happy. But he couldn't help noticing the way everyone treated him – handling him like something fragile. Harry had a distinct feeling that they were trying very hard to cheer him up purposely. This made him pretty uncomfortable, but he tried his best to hide the feeling.

After all, he had no right to feel down when he'd just had his best birthday ever.

At nearly midnight, the party finally called to an end. Still quite unsatisfied, Fred and George ignited miniature fireworks along the stairs and all over the hall, causing a great deal of oohs and aahs from the youngsters, and a mere grunt from Mrs. Weasley, who was luckily in a good mood.

………………………………………

A/N – Okay this chapter is quite flat in my opinion, forgive me if you are feeling bored to hell at the moment. I promise there'll be more actions later. And actually, this chapter was originally two chapters; I thought the progress was too slow so I cut the part where they chatted in Ron's room (and things got a bit...er..._emotional_) and combined the original chapters 2 and 3 into one. If you want to read the deleted part, please tell me and I'll post them along with the next chapter.

P.S. the next chapter is a lot more interesting:D and thanks for the review, OrlandoObsessed! And guys, please spend a small portion of your time to post a review. I'm a beginner and I'd love your suggestions and criticism!


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